Sweetest Thing
by Rei Minomiko
Summary: The title basically says it all...


Disclaimer:The fic is the only thing that's mine; characters aren't, unfortunately. All rights to  
this amazing Anime belong to Clamp, Kodansha, yadda yadda yadda, so don't waste your time suing   
me! Your 'corporate bogeyman' won't get anything valuable from me, anyway, except for a handful  
of lousy college grades, some leftover cookie crumbs, a Pentel point 5 standard ball pen, and some crumpled research papers.  
  
Author's Notes: Hiya guys! This is one of the fics that I posted up to make up for not yet   
updating Destiny. I wrote this while taking a break from reviewing for a Chemistry exam a   
semester ago. *grins* Anyway, I hope you like it. I promise I'll get to work on Destiny as soon   
as I can!!!  
  
SWEETEST THING by rei-chan  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaarrrggggggggghhhhh!!!"  
  
Kinomoto Sakura grabbed her head as she shrieked, staring in dismay at the tall stack of dirty   
utensils crammed on the sink as the smoke detector in their kitchen wailed. "Why--" she fumed   
throught gritted teeth even as she pushed open the kitchen windows to let some fresh air in  
the house, "do I have to be sooo good in COOKING and SUCK sooooo BAD in baking?!"  
  
She had been holed up inside the kitchen for the past four hours, desperately trying to bake two   
hundred chocolate chip cookies for their school's bake sale the next day. Her other groupmates   
Rika, Naoko, Chiharu, and Tomoyo had all left hours ago to start on their own   
pastries for tomorrow's sale. Why she couldn't get the hang in baking was beyond her!  
  
Sakura eyed the messy kitchen counters and groaned in disbelief as the egg whites started  
dribbling disgustingly on the once-immaculate tiles. "How does Rika make sense with any of these?!" she screamed in frustration as she grabbed a mop and began wiping the mess off. It was lucky that Fujitaka was on an overnight seminar at Kyoto and Touya was staying over at a friend's house for the night. If any of them had been home, who knows what ranting she would be getting as soon as they see the mess their house was in!  
  
"I HATE THIS!!!" She screamed.  
  
Just then, the telephone rang. Throwing the unwashed mop back into the broom closet, Sakura trudged towards the living room, grumbling under her breath. Whoever calling her had to have a DECENT excuse to disturb her from her baking. After all, she still had 150 more cookies to bake! "Hello?!" she snarled at the receiver, not even bothering to cover up her annoyance as she slumped on the couch, face and hair covered with flour. Her caller deserved it, after all!  
  
"You done yet?" Li Syaoran's quiet voice asked from the other line. Eyes wide, Sakura apologized   
in a rush.  
  
"Syaoran-kun! Gomen ne. I thought you were someone else." She sputtered.  
  
She could hear Syaoran sigh on the other end. "You don't have to explain, Sakura-chan. I think I   
understand. Anyway I just called to check if you've finished baking yet."  
  
The auburn-haired girl snorted. "Are you kidding?! I haven't even done half yet!" she fumed.  
  
She heard her boyfriend's sharp intake of breath. "Nani?" he asked incredulously. "But you're   
supposed to make two hundred!"  
  
Now it was her turn to sigh. "I know!" she moaned, grabbing a throw pillow from the couch and wacking herself on the head with it. "And it's almost midnight. I don't think I can finish this all!" she wailed.  
  
"What exactly happened?" Syaoran wanted to know.  
  
Inspite of her frustration, Sakura couldn't help but blush at Syaoran's question. "Ano," she   
hedged, slipping sidewards on the sofa so that she was lying down. Tired, she covered her  
face with the pillow. "I couldn't follow the procedure. I mean, Rika-chan and Tomoyo-chan explained everything to me before they left, but doing it on my own..." her sentence trailed off. Sitting upright once more, she blew her bangs away from her eyes and sighed again. "Besides I keep on burning the batches. So far I've only made about fifty."  
  
The boy was silent while she spoke.   
  
"Listen, go to bed." he said after a moment's pause.  
  
Sakura's mouth dropped open and a look of disbelief crossed her face as she stared at the  
receiver dumbly for a short while. Shaking her head slightly, she placed the receiver back on her ear and asked, "Uhm, Syaoran? Weren't you even listening to me?" She asked him patiently.  
  
From the other end, the Chinese boy heaved a sigh. "Ano ne, Sakura-chan. It's almost two in the   
frigging morning. You should go to bed and get some rest."  
  
The auburn-haired girl was annoyed. "Don't you think I don't know that?" she fumed, tugging on a   
fistful of her hair. "Listen, Syaoran, thank you for your concern but I don't think sleeping is   
the answer to all of this." She snorted. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I HAVE to bake those cookies." She said curtly.  
  
Syaoran's voice held a hint of calmness and authority when he replied.  
  
"I don't care. Go to bed. I'll tell Rika that you had too much trouble with those stupid cookies." His voice then dropped to a whisper. "It's late, koishii. I want you to rest. You SHOULD rest."  
  
Her eyes strayed towards the kitchen. From her sitting position, she could see the mess she had   
made on the counters, and sighed. "All right." Sakura said grudgingly. "I'll just wait up  
a little for that last batch, clean up, then go to bed."  
  
"Good." He hesitated for a while before talking again, softly, shyly. "Want me to come over and   
help you?"  
  
Inspite of the guilt she was feeling over not being able to finish the job she was assigned with,   
Sakura couldn't help but smile at the boy's thoughtful offer. "That's tempting, really, Syaoran,  
but no. I'll have to decline. I think I can clean all this up by myself." she told him.  
  
The disappointment in Syaoran's voice was evident even in his short reply. "Aa."  
  
"I'll just see you tomorrow?"  
  
"Of course. Oyasumi nasai, Sakura-chan."  
  
Sakura fingered the Key around her neck and whispered softly. "Daisuki."  
  
"Onaji."(1)  
  
Click.  
  
-0-  
  
Kinomoto Sakura rushed inside the school grounds breathing heavily, carrying with her a tray   
filled with eighty chocolate chip cookies. Not only was she not able to finish baking everything,  
she even arrived late and missed helping in the preparation of her booth. Sighing  
to herself she walked over to the booth were Rika and Naoko stood counting their items.  
  
The girl with the glasses saw her approach first. "Oi, Sakura-chan!" she called out cheerfully,   
raising a hand to wave at the emerald-eyed girl. "Ohayo gozaimasu!"  
  
"Ohayo, Naoko-chan, Rika-chan." Sakura replied nervously, coming to stand beside the two  
of them. Sadly she held up her tray. "Gomen ne," she apologized softly, bowing her head as she  
extended the cookies to her two friends, "I wasn't able to bake all two hundred. All I've got is  
eighty."  
  
Rika eyed her in confusion. "Eighty?" she repeated, her voice unbelieving.  
  
Sakura hung her head. "I'm really sorry. I suck at baking." she said apolegetically.  
  
Naoko took the tray from her friend and set it down before taking hold of Sakura's arm.  
"Demo, Sakura-chan," she persisted, motioning over to the table where about ten trays of baked   
goods stood. "Li-kun came by earlier this morning with exactly two hundred chocolate chip   
cookies. He said you sent him ahead with them." Naoko cocked her head to one side and pointed a  
finger at her. "So why are you apologizing?" she wanted to know.  
  
Sakura furrowed her brow at Rika and Naoko, a completely bewildered expression on her face as she   
motioned at the table were their baked items were. "Syaoran brought two hundred cookies this morning?" she wanted to confirm, her voice all soft and distant as she turned to look at the   
trays. "And he sent me to bed last night..." she trailed off.  
  
"What are you babbling about?" Rika asked her in confusion.  
  
The emerald-eyed girl snapped out of her daze and immediately began waving her hands in  
front of her. "Ah, nan demo nai no, minna!" she said while laughing. Quickly she slipped her   
backpack off her shoulders and placed it down. "Ano, can I leave you guys for a while? I have   
somewhere to go to..."  
  
Rika and Naoko eyed each other first with knowing expressions on their faces. "Sure." The girl   
with the glasses replied, while Rika smilingly shrugged.  
  
"Thanks."   
  
With a slight wave, the auburn-haired girl ran off like a shot.  
  
-0-  
  
"Oi, Li! You seem so out of it. What's wrong?"  
  
Syaoran jerked his head back up from its position on top of his duffel bag when he heard someone call his name. "Huh?" he groaned out sleepily, his bleary eyes scanning his surroundings for his   
caller.  
  
Yamazaki's cheerful face appeared right in front of him. "Had trouble sleeping last night?"  
the chinky eyed boy inquired, a hint of a mischievous smile on his face as he tilted his head at  
his friend. "You and Kinomoto-chan had..."  
  
Syaoran rapped him sharply on the head. "Shut up!" he scolded. Everyone in the varsity locker   
room laughed as Yamazaki sourly massaged his head.   
  
"Touchy this morning, eh?" one of their teammates observed as Syaoran made another grab for  
Yamazaki's head.  
  
"I had a rough night." was the Chinese boy's short reply.  
  
Yamazaki began making kissing noises and suggestive motions in the air, his short hair now tied   
back into two little pigtails like Sakura's.  
  
Syaoran glared daggers at him through his red-rimmed eyes.  
  
The whole soccer team was in tears by the time a series of timid knocks were heard from the door.   
Kino, one of the bigger boys in the team, stood up from his chair to answer the door as Syaoran   
growled rabidly at the mischievous Yamazaki. After a few moments, he whistled for Syaoran to   
come over, saying that someone was looking for him. Throwing all of them a withering stare, the   
captain of the soccer team stormed towards the door while his team mates laughed under their   
breaths.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked irritably, pulling the door open. Seeing Kinomoto Sakura's hesitant face in front of him nearly made him slam the door back shut. "S-sakura-chan!" he stuttered, a light  
blush tainting his cheeks as he stared at his girlfriend's face. "What are you doing here?   
Aren't you supposed to be helping out with the bake sale?" he asked her.  
  
Sakura tweedled her thumbs nervously and looked down. "Ano, I--uhm...it's..ah...er..."  
  
The brown-haired boy's lips quirked up into an amused smile. "Talk English, koishii."  
  
The girl blushed at the endearment. "Ano, I wanted to thank you..." she finally said softly.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For baking my cookies for me." Large emerald eyes sought to meet amber ones. "That was   
really ni--sweet of you.' she mumbled softly.  
  
Syaoran nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, his careless demeanor ruined only by the slight   
flush on his cheeks. "Nothing to it. Wei was still up and I couldn't sleep." he replied.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "Still, I appreciate your effort. Thank you."  
  
They stared at each other for a few moments, lost in each other's gzes, until whistles and catcalls could be heard from the locker room.  
  
"Go for it Syaoran!"  
  
Syaoran smirked, then leaned forward and kissed her soundly on the lips, murmuring, "Your welcome."  
  
==owari==  
  
FOOTNOTES:  
  
1. From what I've looked up from my very reliable English-Japanese Dictionary, this phrase means "Same here." ^-^  
  
Like it? Hate it? Let me know! 


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